Plug & Play NFC package for Linux and Android device development

June 24, 2015 //
By Graham Prophet

NXP's PN7120 will, the company says, accelerate NFC adoption in the IoT devices. The highly integrated PN7120 helps create innovative NFC solutions and enables fast exploration of new applications and use cases for IoT and the Smart Home including a variety of appliances and consumer electronics.

Today, many Smart Home devices are based on Linux or Android. The integrated solution includes all RF communication protocols for NFC, NFC controller interface (NCI) and Linux and Android drivers to ease development. For example, integrating the PN7120 into a TV can enable convenient pairing to a router and introduce new use cases beyond traditional TV consumption such as personalised access, video on demand payment, maintenance and commissioning. “Pairing a Bluetooth, Wifi or ZigBee device can be just a tap away,” NXP adds.

The PN7120 features an NFC contactless reader IC and embedded firmware with integrated communication protocols relevant for NFC. Through its drivers and software, the solution is optimised for Linux and Android, and can be integrated in any other embedded operating system (OS). It uses the standardised NFC controller interface (NCI) maintained by the NFC Forum, to speed integration with the system's main controller. The PN7120 comes with a Single Board Computer Demo Kit, including interface boards for the latest Raspberry Pi releases and for BeagleBone.